Toe binding



Aug. 9, N56 H. HvAM TOE BINDING Filed March l6. 1964 #Illlllll Hill FIGA/f Y f4? 373 S17-Hmmm 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 7 FIGS` FIG 8 INVENTOR.HJALMAR wwwv BY sucKHoRN, BLoRE,

KLARQUIST v81 SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS A116 9, 1966 H. HVAM 3,265,400

TOE BINDING Filed March 16. 1964 :s sheets-sheet s HJALMAR HVAM /VVEWTORBuc/Hom BLORE, KLARoU/sr a SPAR/MAN ATTORNEYS Patented August 9, 1966United States PatentOtce 3,265,400 TOE BINDING n .1 Hjalmar IIvam, Rte.1, Box 404, Beaverton, Greg.

Filed Mar. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 352,197

15 Claims. (Cl. 280--11.35)

This invention relates to toe ski bindings, and more particularly tosafety toe ski bindings having improved detenting means.

An'object of the invention is to provide improved toe ski bindings. l

Another object of the invention is to provide safety toe ski bindingshaving improved detenting means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toe ski binding having.releasing detent meansy variable in accordance with the' upward forceofa swivel member thereof.

A still further object of the invention is to provide safety skibindings having a minimum number ofv parts.

Yet another object of the invention'is to provide an improved safety toebinding for a ski in which the hold-` ing power of the binding isincreased while a'skier is executing a turn. n

The invention provides toe ski bindings each including a base xed to theski and an arm provided with a jaw portion at one end thereof havingmeans engaging a ski boot. The arm is pivotally mounted on the base forfree horizontal pivotal movement relative to the base and is movablevertically relative to the base against the force of a spring. Detentmeans located under thebase holds the arm in a holding position andapplies an increased holding force to the arm when the arm is pressedupwardly relative to the base.

A toe ski binding forming one specific embodiment of I the inventionincludes a base having a vertical bore there'- through and a counterboreat the upper end thereof in which is seated a comprcssionsprng bearingupwardly against an arm having a shaft extending through the bore. Thearm has spaced ridges and ank overhanging lip at a free end thereof forengaging the end of the sole of a ski boot. A slotted washer is slidableinto keying grooves in the lower end of the shaft, and has detentpinstting into detent recesses in the base when the ywasher is'pulled upagainst the base by the shaft and the armA is in its normal positionextending rearwardlyl of the base. The pins cam the Washer and the armdownwardly'against`the lifting action of the ski boot sole torelease'theann when the maximum safe lateral force is exerted bythe `skiboot when the skier is falling. When the skieris executing a turn wherestrong holding force on'tthe ski boot yisdesirable, the toe of the skiboot is raised as partf'of the turning action, and this increases thedetenting force of the detent pins and recesses. t i:

In a toe ski binding forming an alternate embodiment of the invention,there is provided a base having a bore therethrough and a toe engagingarm whichhas a 'shaft slidable in the bore and riveted over a springwasher at the lower end of the bore to secure the arm against separationfrom the base while still permitting vertical movement of the armrelative to the base. The washer and the base are provided with firstresilient detent means normally interengaging, and also .have secon-d,non-resilient detent means normally not in engagement but movable intoengagement when the arm is pushed upwardly relative to the base, asoccurs during execution of a turn with the ski.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description of toe ski bindings forming specificembodiments thereof, when read in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, in which:

FIG, 1 is a fragmentary, top plan view of a ski having thereon a toebinding forming one embodiment of the invention; g

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional views takenalong line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and showing the toe binding in two differentconditions;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. l;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, orizontal sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 5,-5 of FIG. 3; A

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, horizontal sectional view taken along line 6-6 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken along line 7--7 ofFIG. 3;

kFIG- v 8 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken along lirie 8-8of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, horizontal sectional view taken alongline 9-f9 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view of a toeski binding forming an alternate embodiment of the invention mounted ona ski;

FIG. `11 is `an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal sectional view takenalong line 11-11 of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken alongline 12-12 of FIG. 10.

Referring'n'ow in detail to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 to 9'a ski 10 having thereon a safety toe ski binding A11 against which theforward edge of a sole 12 of a ski bo'ot13 is urged by a cable 14 of aheel binding 15. The heel binding 15 is one of the type in which thetension of the heel binding cable 14 may be manually adjusted, oneexcellent ski binding for this purpose being that disclosed and claimedin my copending application, Serial No. 198,821, tiled May 31, 1962, nowPatent No. 3,147,986 issued September 8, 1964, which will release thetension of the cable 14 when there is a maximum safe stress on lthecable 14. The toe binding 11 includes an arm or swivel A21 whichnormally occupies a directly rear# wardly extending position, asillustrated in full lines in FIG. 1,' and when maximum safe lateralthrust is applied to the free end of the arm 21, will swing to one ofthe broken line positions of the arm 21yto release the ski boot. The arm21 is pivoted on a base 22 fastened to the ski by screwsv 23, and isdetented relative to the base in its normal or full line position asshown in FIG. 1 as is described in detail hereinbelow. The detentingpower holding the arm y21 in its normal, rearwardly extending positionis increased when the arm is in a slightly raised position relative tothe base 22 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The arm 21 (FIGS. 2 and 3) includes an elongated arm body 24 having atone end thereof a lip 25 for engagingl the top of the front end of thesole 12 of the ski boot 1 3, together with a pair of sharp vertical ribsor ridges 26 (FIG. 9) formed on a depending portion 28. The ridges 26,when the arm 21 is in its normal, rearwardly extending position, aresubstantially equidistantly spaced from the centerline of the ski 10 onopposite vsides of the centerline of the ski. The rear end of the armhas an arcuate recess 27 defining with the sides of the yarm the rathersharp ridges 26. The ridges 26 are adapted to engage thev end of thesole'12 of the ski boot 13. The arm also includes adjacent its forwardend an integral post or shaft 31. The shaft 31 has a reduced portion 32near the lower end thereof on which is mounted a spring washer 33 whichis secured to the shaft by a rivet head portion 34 of thel shaft and iskeyed to the shaft by three base 22. The shaft 31 projects slidablythrough a bore 41 formed in the boss 36 to mount the arm 21 forunlimited fhorizontal pivotal movement of the arm 21 relative to thebase 22, and also to permit vertical movement of the arm 21 relative tothe base 22. Directly behind the shaft 31, when the arm is in itsnormal, rearwardly extending position, the base has a rounded dei tentpin or projection 42 directly over a camming socket or recess 43 in thespring washer 33. The recess 43 is positioned near the inner peripheryof the washer 33. The washer 33 and rivet head portion 34 of the shaft31 -are positioned in a coutnerbore 45 formed in the base 22. Each of apair of 'rounded detent pins or projections 51 (FIGS. 5 and 6) similarto the detent pin 42 is spaced around the boss 36 about 45 from thedetent pin 42. The detent pins 51 are adapted to fully enter cammingsockets or slots 54 (FIGS. 6 and 8) in the washer 33 when the arm 21 isin its normal position, and the camming sockets 54 are positioned nearthe outer periphery of the washer. Because of the elasticity of thewasher the outer periphery thereof may flex relatively freely contrastedwith the restriction of movement of the inner portion of the Washerhaving the socket 43, which inner portion of the washer is held firmlyagainst any appreciable iiexing by the rivet head portion 34.

Normally, when unstressed, the spring washer 33 I (FIGS. 2, 3 and 6) isat, but, when the washer is assembled on the shaft and the rivet headportion 34 is formed, the central portion of the washer is drawnslightly upwardly to bell the washer slightly, the outer peripheralportion of the washer engaging annular land or shoulder 57. This slightbelling of the washer, which is so slight that it is impractical to showit in the drawing, is caused because the distance between the top of theboss 36 and the land 57 is slightly greater than the distance from thetop of the shaft 31 to the reduced portion 32 of the shaft. Duringnormal stresses of skiing, the detent pin 42 does not enter the recessor socket 43 while the detent pins 51 fully enter the sockets 54. Inthis position, the detent pins 51 hold the arm 21 against releasingmovement until a maximum safe lateral falling force occurs and then thearmpivots, the detent pins 51 camming the portions ofthe washer engagedthereby downwardly to releasing positions. However, in executing a turn,the skier tends to twist his ski boot about a generally horizontal axisgenerally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ski. This applies astrong lifting force to the lip 25 of the arm and lifts the arm to theposition thereof shown in FIG. 3 until the inner portion of the springwasher 33 bottoms on the bottom of the counterbore 45, and the cammingrecess or socket 43 moves up over the detent pin 42. The sloping cammingwalls of the socket 43 (FIG. 7) are much steeper than those of the`sloping camming walls of the recesses 54 (FIG. 8), and the detentingforce of the pin 42 is much greater than the combined detenting force ofthe pins 51. Also, the inner portionl of the washer 33 (FIGS. 2 and 3)in which the recess 43 is formed is held substantially rigid due to thebacking lof the rivet head portion 34 as compared to the outerperipheral portions of the washer in which the recesses- 54 arepositioned, which can move downwardly as the washer is flexed. Thus, thearm is detented against releasing movement with one force when there isno appreciable upward force on the lip 2S, which is the condition duringfalling, and is held against such releasing movement with a muchstronger force when there is a substantial upward force on the lip 25 asis needed during execution of a turn. Stated in other words, duringexecution of a turn, there is a high force urging the. ski bootlaterally of the ski and the toe binding, and also there is a high forcefrom the ski boot sole pressing the arm 21 upwardly. This upward forceresults from the tendency of the ski boot to twist generally about itslongitudinal axis during execution of the turn. These forces are notdangerous to the skier, and it is desirable that the ski boot be heldstrongly by the toe binding at this time, and the toe binding doesy thisby making the strong detenting power of the detent pin 43 effectiveduring turning. However, whenever the skier is falling, it is essentialthat the ski boot be released before the highest non-dangerous ormaximum safe force is exceeded. During falling there is no great upwardthrust on the arm 21 and only the detent pins 51 and recesses 54 areeffective and they release before a dangerously high force is reached.

When the maximum ysafe lateral force is applied to the arm 21, thedetent pins 51 or the pins 42 and 51 are cammed out of the correspondingsockets 54 and 43, and the arrn 21 swings until one of the ridges 26 isovercenter relative to the centerline of the ski. Then the arm 21 swingsfreely onwardly to release the ski boot.

A toe ski binding (FIGS. 10 to 12) forming an alternate embodiment ofthe invention mounted on ski 81 includes an arm 82, a base 84, a rigidlocking and detenting washer 86 and a compression spring 88. The arm 82is generally similar to arm 21, .and includes a pair of vertical ridges90 and an overhang-ing lip 92 at the free end thereof which aresubstantially identical in struc- -ture and function with the ridges 26and lip 25 of the arm 21. The arm 82 has a shaft 94 extending looselythrough bore 96 and upper counterbore 98 into lower counterbore 100 inthe base 84. The arm has an elongated cylindrical borel 102, litsclosely on the exterior of elongated cylindrical sleeve portion 104 ofthe base, and is freely slidable along and freely rotatable on thesleeve portion 104. The bore 102 lis concentric to the shaft 94, and aboss portion 106 in the central part of the bore forms a springseat,joins the shaft to the arm 82 and is spaced inwardly from the wall ofthebore 102 to provide an annular clearance recess 109 for the upper end ofthe sleeve portion 104 during assembly of the components of the binding80. The base 84 has a bottom recess 110.

The washer 86 (FIG. 11) has a U-shaped slot 112 therein and hasstraight, parallel, keying portions 114 slidable into and complementaryto a U-shaped groove 116 inthe'liower end of the shaft 94. Sides 118 ofthe groove 116 are straight, and key the washer to the shaft. Detentpins 120 formed integrally on the washer and having rounded endsnormally extend upwardly into detent or camming recesses or sockets 122-in the end of the lower counter bore 100 when the arm 82 is in itsnormal position in which it is held in its uppermost position by thespring 88 and extends directly rearwardly along the ski.

When the condition approaching danger arises during skiing, as in afall, for example, the ski boot is twisted with. a sucient force to turnthe arm 82, which causes the detent pins 120 to cam out of the recess122. This moves the arm 82 downwardly toward the ski 81 againstv theactions of the spring and the upward force of the sole of the ski bootagainst the lip 92. Then the detent pins ride on the plane end face ofthe counterbore 100 as further turning of the arm 82 occurs, and whenone of the ridges 90 goes over-center relative to the centerline of theski, the arm 82 swings freely to a collapsed or nonhoiding positionextending laterally of the ski. However, in the execution of a turnwhere high holding power is needed, the sole of the ski boot tends totwist about the longitudinal axis of the sole to exert a strong liftingforce on the lip 92 of the arm 82. This holds the detent pins 120upwardly in the detent recesses 122 with sufficient force to preventturning of the arm despite the strong turning force exerted on the arm4by the -skiboot during the execution of the turn by the skier. .s

To assemble the toe ski binding y80, with the 'base64 removed from theski 81, the shaft 94 is inserted through the spring 88 and bore 96. Thearm 82 then is pushed downwardly relative to the `base until the sleeveportion 104 bottoms against the bottom of the groove 109, and the arm 82and base 84 are held in these relative positions in which the U-shapedgroove 116m the lower end of the shaft is entirely below the bottom endof the counterbore 100 in the base 84. The assembler then slides thewasher 86 onto the shaft 94 to the position thereof shown in FIG. 1l inwhich the keying portions 114 engage the straight sides 118 of thegroove:` 116, and the washer 86 is aligned with the counterbore 100.vThe arm 82 ,then is .released and the spring 88 pullsy the'washer intothe counterbore 100 and against the end of the counterbore 100. Thecounterbore 100 has a diameter slightly larger than that of the washer86 to permit free facewise and turning movements of the washer in thecounterborebut is sufliciently small to retain the washer in asubstantially centered position on lthe shaft 94.

The above described toe ski bindings 11 `and .80 provide one holdingforce for skiing without turning and provide a much stronger holderforce while turning occurs. They also inherently increase'the detentingforce while any lifting force is applied to the lips 25 and 92 of thearms 21 and 82. The bindings are lvery rugged and durable, and haveminimum numbers of parts, the Ybinding 11 having only three parts andthe binding 80 four.

It is to be understood that the above-describedarrangements are simplyillustrative of the application of the principles of the invention.Numerous other arrangements may be readily devisedl by those skilled inthe lart which will embody the principles of the invention and fallwithin the spirit and scope thereof. i

What is claimed is:

1. In a toe-holding clamp for a ski,

arm means extending generally horizontally and having a ski bootengaging means on one end thereof and having a shaft rigidtherewithadjacent the other end, v pivot means secured to the skimounting the shaft pivotally on the ski to mount the arm means forgenerally horizontal pivotal movement of the arm means relative to theski and also permitting limitedvertical movement of the arm meansrelative to Athe ski,

and detent means positioned at the lower ends of the shaft and the pivotmeans normally holding the arm means with a predetermined force againsthorizontal pivotal movement relative to the ski and holding the armmeans against such hor; lzontal pivotal movement with a substantiallygreater ,force than said predetermined force when the lip member ispressed upward- 1y yby the ski boot.

2. In a toe-holding clamp for a ski,

arm means extending generally horizontally and having ski boot engagingmeans at onevend thereof,A

the arm means havinga shaft extending downwardly from the other end ofthe arm means pivot means secured to the ski mounting ,the arm means onthe ski and having a vertical bore receiving the shaft and a counterboreat the lower end of the bore,

retaining means keyed to the lower end of the shaft and positioned inthe counterboreand limiting upward movement of the shaft relative to thepivot means and permitting downward movement thereof, means urging theretainingmeans `upwardly into engagementwith the end of the counterbore,

first detent means on the retaining. means,

a second detent means on the pivot means and engaged by the first detentmeans when the arm is in a normal said predetermined force when asubstantial upward v force is applied to the arm means.

3. In a toe binding for a ski,

an arm having at one end thereof a ski boot engaging means and at theother end thereof a downwardly depending shaft,

a base having a shaft-receiving vertical bore of a predetermineddiameter and a counterbore at the 'bottom of the bore,

a retaining `member larger than the diameter of the bore keyed to theshaft and positioned in the counterbore,

the retaining member and the base being provided with detent portionsinterlocking when the retaining member is in `an uppermost :position andthe arm extends directly rearwardly relative to the base and adapted tocam the retaining member downwardly and release the retaining memberwhen the arm is pivoted relative to the base,

and resilient means urging the retaining member toward the uppermostposition thereof.

4. In a toe binding for a ski,

an arm having at one end thereof a downwardly depending shaft and at theother end thereof a lip and a. pair of spaced vertical ridges,

the arm also having a downwardly facing cylindrical hole concentric withthe shaft,

a base having a shaft-receiving vertical bore and a counterbore at thebottom of the bore,

the base having a sleeve projecting upwardly therefrom and adapted tofit into the hole and journal the arm on the base with the inner wall ofthe sleeve spaced radially outwardly from the shaft,

a compression spring positioned in the sleeve and bearing against thebase and the arm,

and stop means keyed to the lower end of the shaft and overhanging theupper end of the counterbore to limit upward movement of the armrelative to the base,

the stop means and the base being provided with detent portionsinterlocking when the stop means is in an uppermost position and the armextends directly rearwardly relative to the base and adapted to cam thestop means downwardly and release the stop means when the arm is pivotedrelative to the base.

5. In a toe binding for a ski,

an `arm having at one end thereof a downwardly depending shaft and atthe otherend thereof a lip and a pair of spaced vertical ridges,

a basehaving a shaft-receiving vertical bore and a counterbore at thebottom of the bore,

and a washer keyed to the shaft and positioned in the counterbore,

the washer and the base being provided with normally interlocking,releasable detent portions 6. The toe binding of claim 5 wherein thewasher is resilient.

7. In a toe ski binding,

base means attachable to a ski,

arm means extending generally horizontally rearwardly relative to thebase means and pivotal on a vertical axis at the forward end thereof tothe base means and having at the other end thereof an overhanging lipand a pair of vertical ridges positioned on opposite sides of thecenterline of the ski when the arm means is in a normal positionextending directly rearwardly from the base means,

and a spring washer keyed to one of the base means and the arm means andpressing the arm means downwardly relative to the base means and havingdetent means,

the other of the base means and the arm means being provided with detentmeans normally interengaging the detent means of the spring washer.

, 8. In a toe-holding clamp for a ski,

a base having a plate portion adapted to be fastened to the uppersurface of a ski and also provided with a generally frustoconical bossportion projecting upwardly from the plate portion,

the boss Iportion having an axial bore therethrough and having acounterbore at the bottom of thetbore and an annular land spacedradially outwardlyfrom thc bore,

the boss portion also having a rst pair of angularly spaced detent pinsextending downwardly from the annular land, i

the boss portion also having a third downwardly extending detent pinpositioned inwardly from the annular land,

an arm having a jaw portion at a first end thereof including anoverhanging lip and a pair of spaced, generally parallel ridgesextending at right angles to the lip,

the arm having at the other end thereof a shaft fitting slidably in thebore,

and a fiat washer keyed to the shaft and having a pair of detentrecesses adapted to receive the first pair of detent pins and alsohaving a third detent recess adapted to receive the third detent pin,

the third detent pin being of a length adapted to enter the third recessonly when the inner portion of the washer is pushed upwardly relative tothe outer portion of the washer. Y

9. In a toe-holding clamp for a ski,

4a base-having a plate portion adapted to be fastened to the uppersurface of a ski and also provided with a boss portion projectingupwardly from the plate portion,

the boss portion having an axial bore therethrough and havingacounterbore portion at the bottom of the bore,

the boss portion also having a first detent pin positioned on the innerportion of the bottom of the counter lbore and being provided with asecond detent pin positioned on the outer portion of the bottom of thecounterbore,

an arm having a jaw portion at a first end thereof including anoverhanging lip and a pair of spaced, generally parallel ridgesextending at right angles to the lip,

the arm having at the other end thereof a shaft slidable in the bore inthe boss portion,

and a spring washer keyed to the lower end of the shaft and havingdetent recesses positioned in alignment with the detent pins when thearm extends directly rearwardly from the boss portion,

the first pin being of a length such as to enter one of the detentrecesses only when the arm is lifted relative to the boss portion andthe seeond'pin being of a length such as to enter the other detentrecess regardless of whether or not the arm is lifted relative to theboss portion.

10. In a toe binding for a ski,

a base having a first vertical pivot portion,

an arm having at one end thereof a second pivot portion pivotal on andslidable along the first vertical pivot portion and ,having at the otherend thereof a lip and a pair of spaced vertical ridges,

means urging the arm downwardly on the base,

stop means limiting downward movement of the arm relative to the base toan extreme lower position of the arm,

first detent means on the arm and base operably engaged when the yarm isin said extreme lower position, and second detent means on the arm andbase operably engaged only when the arm is moved upwardly from saidextreme lower position. l1. In a toe ski binding, base means attachableto a ski, arm means extending generally horizontally rearwardly relativeto the base means and pivotal on a vertical axis at the forward endthereof to the basermeans and having at the other end thereof anoverhanging lip and a pair of vertical ridges positioned on oppositesides of the centerline of the ski when the arm means is in a normalposition extending directly rearwardly from the base means, first detentmeans normally operablerto hold the arm means in said normalposition,-and second detent means operable only when the arm means isurged upwardly relative to the base with a force greater than apredetermined force. 12. In a toe ski binding, base means attachable toa ski, arm means extending generally horizontally rearwardly relative tothe base means and pivotal on a vertical axis at the forward end thereofto the base means and having at the other end thereof an overhanging lipand a pairof vertical ridges positioned on opposite sides of thecenterline of the ski when'the arm means is Vin al normal positionextending directly rearwardly from the base means, resilient'detentmeans normally operable to hold the arm means in said normal position,and rigid detent means operable only when the arm means is urgedupwardly relative t-o the base with a force greater. than apredetermined force. 13. In a toe binding for a ski, a base having afirst vertical pivot portion, an arm having at one end thereof a secondpivot portion pivotal on and slidable along the first vertical pivotportion and having at' the other end thereof ski -boot engaging means,means urging the arm upwardly on the base, stop means rigid on the lowerend of the pivot portion of the arm for limiting movement of the armrelative to the base to an extreme upper position of the arm, and detentmeans on the stop means and the base operably engaged when the arm is insaid extreme upper position and releasing the arm when the arm is moveddownwardly yfrom said extreme upper position. 14. In a toe binding for aski, an arm having at one end thereof a downwardly depending shaft andat the other end thereof a lip and a pair of spaced verticalridges, abase having a shaft-receiving vertical bore and a counterbore at thebottom of the bore, a washer keyed to the shaft and positioned in thecounterbore, l the washer and the base being provided with detentportions interlocking when the washer is in an uppermost position andthe arm extends directly rearwardly relative to the base and adapted tocam the washer downwardly and release the washer when the arm is pivotedrelative to the base, and

a compression spring positioned between the top of the l base and thebottom of the arm and urging the arm upwardly to urge the washer towardthe uppermost position thereof.

15. In a toe binding for a ski,

an arm having at one end thereof a downwardly depending shaft and at theother end thereof n lip and a pair of spaced vertical ridges,

the lower end of the arm having a pair Vof parallel 3,265,4oo t 9 10`groove portions positioned on opposite sides of the lsufficiently tomove the `washer out of the countershaft and extending transversely ofthe shaft, 'boreto permitv assembling the washer on the shaft. a basehaving a shaft-receiving vertical bore and a l counterbore at the bottomof the bore, and l References Cited bythe Examiner a gasllllerttirligttit) trl/[1e cclntetrloxe zsti'g hlvingla 5 v UNITED STATESPKI-ENVIEv -s ape so e o ion ape o v1 e eyingy portions interlockingwhen the washer is in an upper- 2 4 9/ 9 f1 Bey! ""r 28o-1135 mostposition in the counterbore andthe arm extends 1G 320 '525 9/1965 Hyam28o-'1135 directly relarwardlly reltive to tihe basei and adaptd-FOREIGN PATENTS to cam te was er ownwar y an reease te i washer whenthe arm is pivoted relative to the base, I f

and 1,211,631 12/1956 France.

a compression spring engaging an upper portion of 15 t the base and alower portion of the arm to urge the 1'331073 5/1963 France arm upwardlyto urge the washer toward the upper- BENJAMIN'HERSH, primary Examinerl Vmost position thereof, t the arm being movable downwardly relative tothe base M- L- SMITH waant Examiner'

1. IN A TOE-HOLDING CLAMP FOR A SKI, ARM MEANS EXTENDING GENERALLYHORIZONTALLY AND HAVING A SKI BOOT ENGAGING MEANS ON ONE END THEREOF ANDHAVING A SHAFT RIGID THEREWITH ADJACENT THE OTHER END, PIVOT MEANSSECURED TO THE SKI MOUNTING THE SHAFT PIVOTALLY ON THE SKI TO MOUNT THEARM MEANS FOR GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE ARM MEANSRELATIVE TO THE SKI AND ALSO PERMITTING LIMITED VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THEARM MEANS RELATIVE TO THE SKI, AND DETENT MEANS POSITIONED AT THE LOWERENDS OF THE SHAFT AND THE PIVOT MEANS NORMALLY HOLDING THE ARM MEANSWITH A PREDETERMINED FORCE AGAINST HORIZONTAL PIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVETO THE SKI AND HOLDING THE ARM MEANS AGAINST SUCH HORIZONTAL PIVOTALMOVEMENT WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER FORCE THAN SAID PREDETERMINEDFORCE WHEN THE LIP MEMBER IS PRESSED UPWARDLY BY THE SKI BOOT.